By Bidodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, October 29, 2016 : President Pranab Mukherjee has referred a memorandum submitted to him by Congress on the Mahanadi water sharing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

Leader of Opposition in Odisha Assembly and Congress leader Narasingha Mishra on Saturday told media persons that besides, the PMO, President Mukherjee has also forwarded their memorandum to the Home Minister’s Office along with Water Resources Department.

Congress has received a communication from Rashtrapati Bhawan on this context.

“We had requested the President to ask the Centre to stop all the illegal constructions on the upper catchments of Mahanadi in Chhattisgarh. Further, we had also requested him to advise the Union Government to form an interstate water dispute tribunal in case the parties were unable to solve the issue through discussions,” said Mishra.

All 16 Odisha Congress MLAs, led by Leader of Opposition in Assembly Narasingha Mishra, met President Pranab Mukherjee on October 13 and had requested him to intervene in the Mahanadi water sharing dispute between Odisha and Chhattisgarh.